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What Will It Take?by Koreen Kimakowich I sit here pondering how to begin this article. The same question cycles through my thoughts. What will it take? Not only get your attention but to hold your attention long enough that you are impassioned into action. Preventive Action that is relating to the elimination of harassment and discrimination in the workplace. Yes, eliminate it. We can no longer afford to set the bar lower than that. Recent reports in the Ottawa Sun regarding a discriminatory email about sexual orientation being sent around by City of Ottawa Employees, reports of harassment in our federal policing agency and endless articles about bullying in the workplace are but a few signs that it is time to take a serious look at the word prevention, and understand that anything done about harassment after the fact is not prevention. At best it is deterrence, and sometimes it is not even that. A recent internet query of the Vision, Mission, and Value statements of various corporations and organizations revealed that most in some fashion insinuate that their human resource is their most valuable resource. It’s time to reflect that and ensure they are counted. It isn’t enough to count them when a personal tragedy befalls them, or during the festive seasons of the calendar, or where there’s an organizational success to be celebrated. They have to count in all ways including as it relates to harassment prevention in the workplace. Some organizations get it and far too many still don’t. A healthy employee translates into a healthy and prosperous workplace. Typically where you see an unhealthy workplace you will see pockets of, or generalized disrespectful conduct in the workplace. Simply put, we have to do more, starting with doing prevention differently. Harassment and discrimination in the workplace have dire implications in one’s professional and personal life. It eats into one’s very soul. Even thick skin is permeable and therefore penetrable. Worse than forcing victims of harassment and discrimination underground is forcing the perpetuators of such behaviors underground. With twenty years in the workforce, specifically in law enforcement, it’s been my experience that current efforts have a tendency to do just that, falling terribly short of being resourceful for any of the involved parties, whether a witness, a victim, or a perpetrator. With no attention being paid to educating, only disciplining, this response of going underground is instinctual, even intelligent. Driving the perpetuators of such behavior underground is very debilitating to both the internal and external organizational interactions and business of the day. Having been a police officer for twenty years, and my life-partner still in policing, I am very clear of the importance of acquiring only the best equipment and technology required. I’m sure that is equally important in other business structures as well. With respect to the health and wellness of human resources, equipment and technology is not enough, especially as it relates to being respectful to and of each other. It’s time to exert that same degree of energy into ensuring members feel safe, respected, and that their dignity is not ever compromised in the workplace. You may find yourself at this juncture preoccupied with ”so what’s the answer?” I would like to repeat here with emphasis something I stated earlier in this article.
I have been mindful of the need to bring not just a new consideration into the harassment prevention equation but one that was innovative enough that it would cause a wee jolt in the body in the hearing of it. In the late summer or early Fall of 2004 I was in the WEL-Systems Program room and had an open forum conversation with a program participant about discrimination in her workplace. Literally in that moment based not only on what she was saying but what I already knew of my own personal experience, this was about prevention, yes, but specifically as it related to Human Behavior and Why We Do What We Do. Not why in the rehash of the story of the harassment, e.g. I said “X”, because she did “Y”. Rather why when we have so many mechanisms in place to deter the behavior, including discipline, we still have such an inability to stop ourselves from the harassing or discriminating behavior. What is being fed in the perpetrating of it? Enter a harassment prevention concept based on a Human Behavior Education Program (HBEP). Awakening Wave’s HBEP accepts the notion that while we know individuals are responsible and accountable for their behavior, it’s imperative that we give them the resources to embrace this as opposed to habitually looking externally for all the reasons why they did what they did? It begs the question, “What don’t they currently have available to them that will facilitate the taking of personal responsibility and accountability?” We know they need to possess a greater desire and a willingness to be responsible and accountable for their interactions. And there in lies the missing and critical link in the endeavor to become a respectful workplace. Human Resources must have the information available that allows them to be response-able, and account-able. Right now, generally speaking, they don’t. Have you ever considered that when it comes to prevention, focusing on just the behavior is no longer helpful to the cause? I offer this for consideration. The behavior is not the thing! It’s what drives the behavior that’s the thing. The drivers are our individual, organizational, and sub-cultural Beliefs, Values, and Attitudes (BVAs). Most often the BVAs are about how and who we hold ourselves to be in the interaction. E.g. I witness disrespectful behavior, but hold a belief that if I report it I may be seen as a “rat”. I may choose not to take action. I may not agree with what was said or done but as personal survival and fear mechanisms go, I take priority. It makes for a reasonable response, resulting in perpetual harassment and it had nothing to do with the other person and everything to do with me. The in-action is an action and it is indicative of the hold of our BVAs and the damage is done none the less. It’s time to make room in the training forum for a discussion around our BVAs and their relevance to preventing disrespectful behavior. In order to be able, it’s imperative to have a complete understanding/picture of how we work. This to remove the “blame” and “shame” game of the training forum and instead inspire a willingness, ability, and desire for active participation in the creation of their respectful workplace. In the training forum, it becomes a doing “for” as opposed to a doing “to” the employee. None of us escaped the experience of cultural conditioning, therefore, no matter how subtle, we all will innately carry biases. I am suggesting we can be resourceful in spite of them. This HBEP is equally significant whether one has been subjected to, has perpetuated, or has witnessed harassment. Why? Because beyond the culturally conditioned identity a profession creates in the mind, each is a human being first and bears an innate desire to arrive at a workplace where they are treated fairly, respectfully and with dignity, even when perspectives may differ. Here’s the thing. We can disagree absent of using discriminatory comments to make the point. It doesn’t take hurting another to be heard! The HBEP combined with your respective legislation, policy, and conflict resolution training encourages a new wave of awakening to resourcefulness and choice points. It is the key to the elimination of harassment in the workplace. Deterrents and discipline are required and are an Incomplete Response if indeed prevention is what you are seeking. The HBEP provides an opportunity for the employee to, without fear or trepidation, become more aware of themselves in their daily conduct and interactions. It isn’t to change the BVAs, rather to notice that they are showing up at in every interaction, why because they are showing up at every interaction. Just like now as you read this article. Had you noticed? Cultural conditioning is not a good, bad, right, or wrong thing, it just is and the existence of it makes us no less responsible. Once the human resource knows them-selves differently, they cannot un-know what they know. It allows for the welcoming of one’s response-ability and account-ability, empowering everyone possessing a genuine desire to give and receive respect. This article barely scratches the surface of what is possible, and what I can do here for you is answer the question, “What will it take to get into preventive action?” Based on my experience, first it will take getting out of our own way. Collapsing our own limiting beliefs that up until now had us believing two things; that we are powerless to eliminate harassment; and that the key to preventing harassment is directly linked to the behaviour we were witnessing. Do you still think either is true? Either way, I welcome a conversation with you! This article may be reproduced, provided it is reproduced in full with appropriate acknowledgement of the author, the source, and a weblink to www.WEL-Systems.com
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